Leafy Adlershof living with “Charlotte”
“Charlottenburger Baugenossenschaft” building cooperative creates 121 apartments
The buildings are going to be luminous, with lots of windows looking out on the leafy surroundings. “Charlotte”, as the “Charlottenburger Baugenossenschaft” building cooperative is commonly called throughout its business zone in the Charlottenburg and Spandau districts, is more than 100 years old and has been known for its expertise in energetic building and refurbishing.
“We haven’t decided yet as to how many single room apartments we will eventually create, there may be any number from three to eleven,” says Rudolf Orlob. The final decision of the building cooperative’s management board will ultimately depend on the specific demand in this particular segment. However, Orlob points out that the new construction project at the corner of Groß-Berliner Damm and Abram-Joffe-Straße will definitely comprise 121 apartments in total. Besides the two- to fourroom apartments with living areas between 58 and 105 square metres to be created in both the four- and the six-storey building, an additional café and communal room are planned.
Erected on an area of approximately 7,500 square metres and designed by kba Architekten und Ingenieure GmbH, the two buildings are scheduled to be ready for occupancy by the end of the first quarter of 2016. An ambitious goal, Orlob admits. But he is sure it can be achieved.
Besides operating solar thermal plants, in some of its existing buildings “Charlotte” also runs modern cogeneration units. The new buildings in Adlershof are equally intended to have a high energetic level, meeting the so-called KfW 55 standard. Other than through thermal efficient building material, this is achieved through the connection to the BTB Blockheizkraftwerks-Träger- und Betreibergesellschaft mbH which, for years, has provided Adlershof with high-quality primary energy heat. In addition, photovoltaic plants on roofs are planned. These will, however, not be run by the building cooperative. Instead, the required roof areas will be let out to Berliner Energieagentur (BEA) which will operate the plants and market the electricity.
“We want to address singles as well as families with children who appreciate the benefits of living in a cooperative,” Rudolf Orlob explains. “Our net rent shall not exceed 10 Euros so the rent including heating will range between 12 and 13 Euros,” he affirms. Potential residents who will become future cooperative members can apply as of the first quarter of 2015. Whether or not “Charlotte” will engage in further construction projects in Berlin's eastern districts, Orlob doesn’t want disclose yet. “It’s not yet on our agenda, but who knows”, he says. “Being a longstanding cooperative, we look at the situation with patience and serenity.”
By Klaus Oberzig